Monthly Archives: October 2015

In Detroit, homicides by firearm far outpace suicide, according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services 2013 data. Outside Detroit in each of the seven counties in the region, the reverse holds. Suicide by firearm far exceeds homicide by firearm. Accidental deaths by firearm in Southeastern Michigan in 2013 were far lower than either other category. Wayne County, excluding the city of Detroit, had the largest difference between firearm deaths ruled suicide and firearm deaths ruled homicide; there were 50 more firearm deaths ruled homicide. Macomb County had the second largest difference at 42 and Oakland County’s difference was 39.

In Detroit there were 214 more firearm deaths ruled homicide than suicide.

Firearm deaths ruled accidental was the category with the lowest numbers across the region. Wayne County had the highest number of accidental deaths at three while Livingston, Oakland and Washtenaw counties, along with the city of Detroit, had zero.

When looking at the rate of suicide and homicide deaths by firearm per 100,000 residents we see that suicide had a higher rate in all counties but Wayne in 2013. However, when the number of Detroit suicide and homicide deaths are removed from Wayne County it was in line with its peers in that its rate of suicide death by firearm was higher than its rate of homicide by firearm. At the county level, Macomb County had the highest rate of suicide by firearm at 7.6 and Livingston County had the lowest at 2.7. When not including the Wayne County rate of homicide by firearm with Detroit numbers included, Oakland County had the highest rate of homicide by firearm per 100,000 residents in 2013 at 2.5.

Detroit’s rate of homicide by firearm per 100,000 residents was higher than its suicide rate by firearm though in 2013; the rate of homicide by firearm was 13.6 while the suicide rate by firearm was 4.7.

In Detroit, homicides by firearm far outpace suicide, according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services 2013 data. Outside Detroit in each of the seven counties in the region, the reverse holds. Suicide by firearm far exceeds homicide by firearm. Accidental deaths by firearm in Southeastern Michigan in 2013 were far lower than either other category. Wayne County, excluding the city of Detroit, had the largest difference between firearm deaths ruled suicide and firearm deaths ruled homicide; there were 50 more firearm deaths ruled homicide. Macomb County had the second largest difference at 42 and Oakland County’s difference was 39.

In Detroit there were 214 more firearm deaths ruled homicide than suicide.

Firearm deaths ruled accidental was the category with the lowest numbers across the region. Wayne County had the highest number of accidental deaths at three while Livingston, Oakland and Washtenaw counties, along with the city of Detroit, had zero.

When looking at the rate of suicide and homicide deaths by firearm per 100,000 residents we see that suicide had a higher rate in all counties but Wayne in 2013. However, when the number of Detroit suicide and homicide deaths are removed from Wayne County it was in line with its peers in that its rate of suicide death by firearm was higher than its rate of homicide by firearm. At the county level, Macomb County had the highest rate of suicide by firearm at 7.6 and Livingston County had the lowest at 2.7. When not including the Wayne County rate of homicide by firearm with Detroit numbers included, Oakland County had the highest rate of homicide by firearm per 100,000 residents in 2013 at 2.5.

Detroit’s rate of homicide by firearm per 100,000 residents was higher than its suicide rate by firearm though in 2013; the rate of homicide by firearm was 13.6 while the suicide rate by firearm was 4.7.

There were four counties with an increase in the percentage of firearm deaths ruled suicide between 2008 and 2013. Monroe County had the largest increase at 1,000 percent, which is representative of an increase of 10 firearm deaths ruled suicide. In 2008 there was one suicide in Monroe County and in 2013 there were 11. The other three counties were Washtenaw, Oakland and Macomb. In terms of sheer numbers, Oakland County had the largest increase of firearm deaths ruled suicide between 2008 and 2013 at 27.

Livingston County had the largest percentage decrease of firearm deaths ruled suicide between 2008 and 2013 at 55 percent. In 2008 in Livingston County there were 11 firearm deaths ruled suicide and in 2013 there were 5.

Nationally, the suicide rate was 12.1 suicides per 100,000 residents in 2013, according to the Centers for Disease Control, and statewide it was 12. 9 per 100,000 people, according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. However, in Southeastern Michigan we had three counties—Livingston, Macomb and St. Clair—that exceeded this rate. Livingston County had the highest rate in the region at 15.4 per 100,000 residents, with 28 suicides in the county in 2013. Macomb County had the second highest rate 14.8 (125) and St. Clair County had the third highest rate at 13.6 (22) in the region. In the seven counties throughout the region, and in the state overall, suicide was ranked as one of the top 10 causes of death in 2013.

While only certain cities throughout the region had suicide numbers available through the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, we do know that Detroit had the largest overall number of suicides at 57 and Warren had the second highest number at 34; these are the first and third largest cities in the state, therefore when looking at total numbers (not the rate) it is not unexpected that they would also be the highest. The Detroit rate is below the state rate, however, at 12.3.

Nationally, the suicide rate was 12.1 suicides per 100,000 residents in

Suicide rates have been climbing at the state-level and in areas throughout the region. Michigan’s suicide rate is currently the highest it has been since at least 1980 (the first year this data is accessible online), according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. From the 2004-2013, Macomb County had a suicide rate higher than that of the state for seven out of 10 years. In 2013, Macomb’s suicide rate was 14.8, an increase from 11.4 in 2004. Oakland County’s rate increased from 9.9 to 12.3 during that time frame (peaking at 13.9 in 2012), and Wayne County’s rate increased from 9.3 to 11.5 between 2013 and 2014.

In Oakland County, the rate peaked at 12.9 in 2012 and only slightly decreased to 12.3 in 2013. Director of Clinical Services for Health Management Systems of America Beth Combs cited the recession as one of the reasons for the national suicide rate climbed in the past 10 years, according to a 2013 Oakland Press article. She said the loss of a job, particularly for men between the ages of 35 and 55, can leave many feeling hopeless. However, a struggling economy does not solely cause one to take their own life, if at all. Suicide can be caused by mental health issues, feelings of hopelessness and/or loneliness, divorce, bullying, violence and several other issues, according to the Michigan Association for Suicide Prevention.

Annual rates for Livingston, Monroe, St. Clair and Washtenaw counties were not included in the below graph because the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services only had five year rolling averages for those counties.

The suicide rate has nearly doubled for middle-aged Americans in the past decade, according to an Oakland Press article. Above we see that throughout Southeastern Michigan counties in 2013, the number of suicides were either highest among those 20-44 or 45-74 (this is how age categories are broken down by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services). Livingston, Macomb and Wayne counties had the highest number of suicides in the 20-44 category while Monroe, Oakland, St. Clair and Washtenaw had the highest number in 45-74 category. At the national level, according to the Centers for Disease Control, the age group with the highest suicide rate (19.1) was those between the ages of 45 and 64.

In Michigan, while support groups for those suffering from suicidal thoughts and survivors of suicide do exist, mental health funding as a whole has been cut. In 2014, according to a Voice News article, Macomb County cut services to about 1,300 people and St. Clair County cut services to about to about 300. Overall, about $100 million was cut from the state’s mental health system in fiscal year 2014. In Macomb County, due to the state and Medicaid funding cuts, the county’s mental health authority cut its Survivors of Suicide (SOS) program and must rely on volunteers to staff its crisis center. Through general fund appropriations Macomb County has been able to re-establish the SOS program by contracting with an outside party. The Oakland County Community Mental Authority has taken a different route to promote suicide awareness prevention and support by a securing a five-year, $200,000 grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration.

Despite monies being found outside of state funding to support suicide prevention, support and awareness programs we must be aware that rates are increasing locally and throughout the state as state funding for mental health services is declining.

Detroit may no longer be grimly perched a top the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s murder-rate list (St. Louis took that spot for 2014), but regionally it still stands out. The city of Detroit has consistently had the highest number of murder/non-negligent manslaughter offenses throughout the region, even prior to 2009. While the six-year span from 2009-2014 the city’s murder offenses number peaked at 348 in 2009, the counties in the region did not experience the same trend. Rather, in the same time frame, the number of murder/non-negligent manslaughter offenses in Oakland County peaked in 2011 at 33, the only year in that time frame in which there were more offenses there than in Wayne County. In 2011 Wayne County’s number dropped to 26 from 35 the previous year; that same year Detroit’s number increased to 291 from 319.

From 2012 to 2013 all the counties in the region, with the exception of Oakland and Monroe counties, experienced an increase in the number of murder/non-negligent manslaughter offenses. Wayne County experienced the largest increase at 9; Oakland County’s number dropped by 10 that year. From 2013 to 2014 Wayne County again experienced a dropped, from 49 to 17. While these numbers do not include Detroit’s murder data, it does follow the same trend of Detroit’s murder numbers dropping to an all time low in 2014. In 2014, according to the Michigan State Police Data, it was Oakland County with the highest number of murders (excluding the city of Detroit) at 18. Although Oakland County had the highest county number in 2014 it has been experiencing a decrease since 2011, when it reached a peak of 33.

While Detroit may have the highest number of murder offenses in the region, it has experienced a decrease in that, and violent crime overall. In 2014, according to information provided by Police Chief James Craig, Detroit had the fewest number of criminal homicide offenses in the last 47 years. The chart shows just how drastic the number of murder offenses is between Detroit and other regional cities though. With Detroit’s murder offense number at 300 in 2014 the city police agency that reported the second highest murder offenses in the region was Inkster with a number of 6. Warren, which is the second largest city both in the region and the state, had four murder offenses and Sterling Heights, the fourth largest city in the state, had zero.

Throughout the state though Flint had the second highest number of reported murder offenses at 28 and Saginaw came in third with 11.

According to 2013 data from the Michigan State Police, which is mapped below, there were 306 murders/non-negligent manslaughter occurrences in the city of Detroit in 2013 and 96 everywhere else throughout the region. St. Clair County had the least, with just three in the county in 2013, two of which occurred in Port Huron. Wayne County had the highest number of murders/non-negligent manslaughter offenses in 2013, with 306 occurring in Detroit and 49 occurring elsewhere throughout the county. Even when removing Detroit data from Wayne County’s numbers, Wayne County would have still sat atop the list regionally. Of the 49 murders/non-negligent murder offenses that occurred in Wayne County, outside of Detroit, 15 occurred in Inkster, according to the Michigan State Police.

From July 2015 to August 2015, the unemployment rate across the state and in the city of Detroit decreased (monthly);

The Purchasing Manager’s Index for Southeast Michigan increased from August 2015 to September 2015 (monthly);

Commodity Price Index decreased from August 2015 to September 2015 for Southeast Michigan (monthly);

Standard and Poor’s Case-Shiller Home Price Index for the Detroit Metropolitan Statistical Area shows home prices are about $7,000 higher than this time last year.

According to the most recent data provided by the Michigan Department of Technology, Management, and Budget, the unemployment rate for the state of Michigan decreased from 6.1 percent in July to 5.2 percent in August. During this same period, unemployment in the City of Detroit also decreased from 13.9 percent in July to 12.2 percent in August. The Detroit rate is 2.4 percentage points lower than where it was in August of 2014.

From July to August , the number of people employed in the city of Detroit increased by about 550, for a total of 213,806 people employed in the city in August. From March to August, the number of people employed in the city increased by 4,400. In the last year, the month of March had the lowest number of people employed in the city of Detroit.

The above chart shows the number of people employed in the auto manufacturing industry in the Detroit Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) (Detroit-Warren-Livonia) from August 2014 to August 2015. From July to August the number of people employed in this industry increased by 3,800, to a total of 105,300. This number is 3,200 less than this year’s peak of 108,500 in June.

The Purchasing Manger’s Index (PMI) is a composite index derived from five indicators of economic activity: new orders, production, employment, supplier deliveries, and inventories. A PMI above 50 indicates the economy is expanding.

According to the most recent data released on Southeast Michigan’s Purchasing Manager’s Index, the PMI for September 2015 was 57.7, an increase of 1.1 of a point from the prior month. It was also a decrease of 2.2 from September of 2014.

The Commodity Price Index, which is a weighted average of selected commodity prices, was recorded at 41.2 points in September 2015, which was 8.8 points lower than the previous month and 13.2 points lower than September 2014.

The above charts show the Standard and Poor’s Case-Shiller Home Price Index for the Detroit Metropolitan Statistical Area. The index includes the price for homes that have sold but does not include the price of new home construction, condos, or homes that have been remodeled.

According to the index, the average price of single-family dwellings sold in Metro Detroit was $103,420 in July 2015. This was an increase of $7,370 from July of 2014 and an increase of $710 from June of 2015.